Venn, Université De Moncton Incubator Will Take Student Entrepreneurs To Next Level
MONCTON — A new partnership between L’Université de Moncton’s Shippagan campus and Venn Innovation hopes to support and grow entrepreneurship within New Brunswick’s student community.
The partnership between the Venn Garage, the incubator program at Venn Innovation, and the UMCS incubator program will help entrepreneurial students take their business ideas to the next level through mentorship, coaching, networking and other opportunities.
“We have a lot of students who want to learn the ropes in terms of starting a business,” said Yves Bourgeois, the dean of studies at UMCS. “They get the theoretical teaching in the classrooms, but the incubator is a safe space where people can get some coaching.”
Bourgeois said the program allows students to go through trial and error when developing their businesses. In addition, the Venn Garage partnership gives students training material through an online platform to complement the hands-on work being done in Shippagan.
“Venn has been very gracious in allowing our students to be able to access some of those precious resources that their own cohorts have access to,” said Bourgeois.
Alicia Grayeb, the program manager of startup services at Venn Innovation, said the company has kept in touch with UMCS over the last few months. Its team wanted to visit Venn’s incubator but couldn’t due to Covid-19 restrictions.
After restrictions loosened around May, she said Venn met with a UMCS committee member to explain the incubator’s resources. Grayeb said it was later asked if Venn could partner with UMCS to mentor its entrepreneurial students in northern New Brunswick.
“The way we see it is a win-win because it’s a way for everyone to be able to be an entrepreneur and have a startup in the tech sector,” said Grayeb. “If we have the academia and the expertise, and they have all the students who are interested, what better way to do it than with a partnership?”
Grayeb said Venn plans to offer one-on-one sessions for the more tech-enabled startups. Students later access the Venn Garage virtual platform, which has various resources to ensure information and other data are organized and stored securely.
Students will even have access to the resources long after they graduate from the program.
“It’s like a recipe book as all the information is all in there and they have all the tools they need,” said Grayeb. “They have to do is the commitment to actually do it and put the passion in to make their great startup.”
There are six students in the program working on four different projects, most of which are more tech-oriented. In addition to Venn’s resources, Bourgeois said they would also work with Francophone students on improving their English skills.
As New Brunswick’s population continues to age and current entrepreneurs retire from the industry, Bourgeois is looking forward to empowering his students to strive towards being a part of the province’s economic growth.
“That’s going to be a win-win,” he said. “A win for the students who are looking to grow their business and settle in New Brunswick, and win for the for the broader community … it’s a virtuous circle that we’re not only hopeful for but optimistic as well.”
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Aaron Sousa is a summer intern for Huddle. Send him story suggestions: [email protected].